Some have recently expressed, in the pages of this newspaper, a feeling of marginalization. Specifically, I, and the group that I represent, the Cornell Israel Public Affairs Committee, have been accused of acting to marginalize a Palestinian point of view. However, I firmly believe that this is not the case; instead, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be engaged — both in the microcosm of Cornell and on the world stage — by each party listening to the perspectives, needs and interests of each other.

[Editor’s Note: This column is the second installment of a two part series, the first half of which appeared in yesterday’s Sun.]

To the Editor:

Re: “After Gaza Protests, Groups Attempt Dialogue,” News, Sept. 29

“If only the Palestinians had better leadership.” I often hear this point from well-intentioned, but in this case at least misguided, pro-Israeli friends and colleagues. They continue to bemoan, “If only they had a Ghandi or an MLK.”

And one can surely make a logical case about previous and current Palestinian (and other Arab) leadership missing the mark. But there are a few more interesting points here. First of all, a Ghandi or an MLK prototype a priori requires the background of either an oppressive colonizing regime or a brutally racist one. Either scenario is not quite ideal, and is fascinating to me that folks, in trying to highlight flawed Palestinian resistance, inadvertently draw this moral parallel to today’s Israel.

Robert Malley, the program director for Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group in Washington, D.C., addressed a modest crowd inside Goldwin Smith’s Hollis E. Cornell auditorium yesterday evening.

Malley, who is widely regarded as an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, gave an insider’s perspective on the nature of the crisis and offered a uniquely anecdotal appraisal of the problems currently facing Israel, Palestine and the United States.

To the Editor:

Re: “This Is a Column about the Holocaust, Not Gaza,” Opinion, Feb. 26

This article highlights a campus-wide rift that has been exposed by numerous recent events: the division between politically correct complacency and progressive dialogue.

Two weeks ago, 1,300 black flags graced the Arts Quad to commemorate the recent deaths in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, standing alongside several dozen signs featuring statements about the recent deaths. This week, in response, the Cornell Israel Public Affairs Committee and Cornell Hillel sponsored a separate display featuring signs regarding Israel’s right to defend itself and Hamas’ affiliations with terrorism.

“Nazi porn?”

That’s a term writer Ron Rosenbaum used in his Slate critique of this year’s film The Reader — “Don’t give an Oscar to The Reader.” Guess Rosenbaum was less than pleased to see a glowing Kate Winslet carry away a gold statue last Sunday for her starring role in the film.

In his scathing column, Rosenbaum summarized the film. While in prison for participating in the murder of 300 Jews, the protagonist, Hanna, taught herself to read. “What a heartwarming fable about the wonders of literacy and its ability to improve the life of an Auschwitz mass murderer!” he pronounced. “Get a load of those pages turning! Reading is fun!”

To the Editor:

Re: “Rally Protests Hamas Rule, Calls For Peace,” Opinion, Feb. 24

Regarding the ongoing tumult over the recent vandalizing of the Gaza display on the Arts Quad, while this writer offers no view on the merits of the terrible situation in Gaza and Israel, one must ask why the Cornell University administration has elected to politicize the Arts Quad in the heart of the campus in contravention of its own rules and regulations that expressly prohibit outdoor displays and postings? (See: the Office of the Dean of Students’ website for the official posting policy guidelines at: http://sao.cornell.edu/SO/postering.php.)

(SEVILLE) — The recent events in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict launched from Gaza have not only provoked emotional responses among Cornell students, but have also gained the attentions of students of the University of Seville. The students, however, are overwhelmingly polarized in favor of the Palestinians.

When Ángel Coca Brejano, student at the University of Seville, was asked the question of who is to blame for the current conflict in Gaza, Brejano responded, “It’s all the Jews’ fault.”

While Coca admitted that he was not entirely serious about his accusation against all Jews, he voiced the views of the majority of students, who believe that the State of Israel deserves the blame for the current situation in Gaza.